Weapons of Choice: Kel-Tec KSG Shotgun

The Kel-Tec KSG has been around since 2011 and was featured in the Shot Show in 2013 in the Generation 2 series, as the video after this segment will provide live-fire demonstration by an expert. The KSG is one ugly bullpup firearm, but it is meant for no-nonsense tactical and/or home defense use, so they say. It holds 14 + 1, 12-GA rounds and no other (yet) shotgun is as short in its class. With an “eyes open” red-dot scope attached, like the AimPoint PRO, you can clear away targets rapidly, according to the manufacturer and Robert Farago at The Truth About Guns. 

It is a pump action, and quick fire is more easier if you mount a hand grip on the front forestock. Let's face it, a shotgun is a great close-quarter combat firearm used by the Special Forces and military units like the MPs. It's ugliness is ignored when you find that this shotgun works well in a narrow hallway or when firing around a corner. With fifteen rounds – it is more than enough for home defense, but a complicated piece of firearm. One thing that is reported about the KSG is that if you do not place your support hand at the end of the forward grip, you will short-stroke it like what could happen with other pumps. It is not a cheap firearm at $880 MSRP, but I would be more worried about Kel-Tec's reputation of questionable quality. It is strange to get used to.

Notice the gun jammed during demonstration in the video. Personally I would prefer a pistol for home defense and a Benelli or Saiga or a Mossberg semi-auto for tactical purposes – despite not being short as the KSG. If you want a shorty, there is always the 1887 Bootleg shotgun or the Stagecoach double-barrel. Or, if you want a unique break-open coach weapon, there is the Triple Crown shotgun with a 18.5-inch barrel that fires three 3x3” Magnum 12-gauge. It comes with five Remington chokes. The latter has an MSRP of $1667.

For those who ride on four wheels in the outback or four hooves in the American West, nothing beats a John Browning lever-action saddle shotgun. It has five shells in the magazine with one in the chamber, less than the KSB, but it is accurate and reliable. You can keep the “Star Wars” bullpup shotgun. As personal preference, I never liked pump shotguns or rifles.